Science Media Centre

The Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, Sir Peter Gluckman, has released a discussion paper on New Zealand’s youth suicide rate. Prepared in conjunction with departmental science advisors from Health, Education, Social Development and Justice, the paper reported on the multiple factors involved in youth suicide and discussed evidence-based approaches to prevention. “What’s different about this […]

On the 22nd May 2017, a suicide bombing took place at a pop concert at the Manchester Arena, with the latest reports indicating 22 dead and a further 59 injured. With the UK ramping up police presence in the streets and increasing the terror alert to from severe to critical, Theresa May noted in a statement that […]

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, University of Canterbury Clinical psychologist Prof Julia Rucklidge outlines her concerns over legislation to control natural health products. An except (read in full here): Julia Rucklidge: Natural Health Bill a bitter pill for nutrient sector Mental illness is on the rise. Figures reveal crisis referrals from 2010 to 2015 have […]

New Zealand scientists are putting the call out for volunteers with, or having recovered from anorexia nervosa, to take part in the world’s largest and most rigorous genetic investigation into the illness. The international Anorexia Nervosa Genetics Initiative (ANGI) is looking for Kiwis to take part in the study, which includes completing a survey and […]

The New Zealand Police this morning announced that all frontline response staff will routinely carry Tasers. Police Commissioner Mike Bush says the decision is based on research and evidence highlighting the success of the Taser in de-escalating violent situations, and its extremely low rate of injury compared with other tactical options. The SMC collected the […]

When new laws restricted the availability of synthetic cannabis in 2013 the number of people needing emergency psychiatric services after using synthetic cannabinoids reduced by half, say Dunedin researchers. The Psychoactive Substances Act limited the availability of synthetic drugs to 50 shops nationally, with products having to meet certain safety-requirements. Data from Dunedin’s Emergency Psychiatric Service was reviewed […]

Teenage boys who show a combination of depressive symptoms and elevated levels of the ‘stress hormone’ cortisol are up to fourteen times more likely to develop major depression than those who show neither trait, according to new research. In a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the […]

Mental health and substance abuse disorders were the leading cause of non-fatal illness worldwide in 2010, according to a new analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study, published in the Lancet today.  A team of researchers in Australia and the US analysed data from 20 mental and substance disorders to model the prevalence, premature death, […]

Researchers have identified series of blood biomarkers that they believe may help to identify individuals at risk of attempting suicide, but independent experts are cautious about over-interpreting this preliminary study. In a study published this week in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, the US researchers said the biomarkers — certain RNA molecules —  were found at […]

The latest edition of the manual defining criteria for mental illness is set to have a major impact on how patients are diagnosed and how their treatment is funded. Walk into the office of any psychiatrist or psychologist and one item is guaranteed to be on the book shelf: the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of […]